This shared equipment grant is for a 12-chamber Comprehensive Lab Animal Monitoring System (CLAMS) that enables efficient and precise measurements of feeding, basal metabolism, motor activities, and thermoregulation in mice. The accurate measurements of these parameters are essential for elucidating the mechanisms underlying obesity and metabolic diseases. Currently, no comparable equipment is accessible to an increasing number of UCSF investigators who are conducting research on obesity and metabolic syndromes. The inability to measure key metabolic parameters in research animals by conventional methods has impeded research progress in this field. In this application, a group of UCSF investigators have described their NIH-supported research projects that would significantly benefit from the acquisition of a CLAMS system. The CLAMS system, if funded, will be integrated into the UCSF Metabolic Core, which will be managed and maintained by designated personnel at the UCSF Diabetes Center. Detailed management plan has been formulated to ensure cost-effective operation of the instrument. With prevalence of obesity, type 2 diabetes and metabolic diseases on the rise, the installation of the proposed instrument would dramatically increase the capacity of existing research efforts, and will attract an even larger number of investigators to study obesity and metabolic disorders.